


Dried Tangerines

by LittleStarredSky



Series: Dried Fruit [1]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Alpha Shane, Alpha Shane Madej, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anal Sex, Angst, Author is Knee-deep in this motherfucker, Big Dick Madej, Blow Jobs, Bottom Ryan Bergara, Co-Workers to Friends to Lovers, Co-workers, Developing Relationship, Dom Ryan, Dom/sub Undertones, Dried Fruit, Feelings, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Hands, Heat Sex, Knotting, Lemon, Literally what happened to me, Lots of Hips, M/M, Male Slash, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Nesting, Nests, Nipple Licking, Nipple Play, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Ryan, Omega Ryan Bergara, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Pining Ryan Bergara, Pining Shane Madej, Porn with Feelings, Power Bottom Ryan Bergara, Queens, RPF, Ryan Bergara Needs a Hug, Ryan Bergara is a Queen, Ryan Bergara's Hips, Ryan needs a confidence boost, Ryan needs a hug, Ryan-centric, Secret Angst, Secret Crush, Shane Madej Has Big Hands, Shane Madej Has a Big Dick, Smut, Tags Are Hard, The Author Regrets Nothing, Top Shane Madej, Topping from the Bottom, author has no idea what she's doing, buzzfeed unsolved - Freeform, lots of smirking, m/m - Freeform, part of a series, so much pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 05:54:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19289509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleStarredSky/pseuds/LittleStarredSky
Summary: It wasn’t like the Buzzfeed community didn’t know that Ryan Bergara was an Omega—everyone had to designate their secondary gender for liability purposes, and Ryan didn’t use super strong scent-blockers. It was just that very few people actually knew the extent of Ryan’s Omeganess. For example, almost no one knew that Ryan only went into heat twice a year for five days rather than four times a year for two days. Or that he was genetically predisposed to having multiple pups at a time. Or that he bordered on a 90% fertility rate when he was ovulating—nearly unheard of for Omegas of any primary gender. Or that he was completely capable of having multiple mates at once. Or that he was able to make any Alpha drop to their knees with just a single word.Basically, hardly a soul on Earth was privy to the fact that Ryan Steven Bergara was a Queen.





	Dried Tangerines

**Author's Note:**

> All the Kudos to C, who read this over and over and over and edited it and gave it love. I owe you everything. 
> 
> This was originally just a little plot bunny that I occasionally fed carrots and let outside the hutch. But that plot bunny multiplied. I wrote this monster-piece in literally three days. 
> 
> Queens are a thing—if you want more information on that, let me know and I will post a short description that goes into more depth about Queens and how they fit into my version of this universe.
> 
> The kitchen sink, for some reason, gets a lot of action in this story. I refuse to explain it. 
> 
> There’s also a lot of hip-grabbing and shivering. And smirking. So. Much. Smirking. 
> 
> Welp, here we go!

Ryan blinked. He blinked again. Again and again and again. Maybe if he blinked enough times, the number on the calendar would magically change. Maybe if he concentrated hard enough, he could blink enough times to make himself wake up from what was very clearly a dream because there was no fucking way that his heat was this fucking close.

Ryan realized he must have been staring at his stubbornly unchanging calendar for a bit too long when Jen walked over and poked him.

“What, Ryan? Some deadline or something?” The short Beta asked him.

“Yeah, something like that,” Ryan sighed. “I just didn’t realize it was so damn close,” he mumbled to himself more than Jen.

Jen laughed,” Yeah, we all know that feeling. Well, good luck!” And she skipped away to the other side of the office where Devon was none-too-subtly waving her over.

“Well, not like this,” Ryan said under his breath as the cramps of past heats ghosted his abdomen. “Definitely not like this.”

It wasn’t like the Buzzfeed community didn’t know that Ryan Bergara was an Omega—everyone had to designate their secondary gender for liability purposes, and Ryan didn’t use super strong scent-blockers. It was just that very few people actually knew the extent of Ryan’s Omeganess. For example, almost no one knew that Ryan only went into heat twice a year for five days rather than four times a year for two days. Or that he was genetically predisposed to having multiple pups at a time. Or that he bordered on a 90% fertility rate when he was ovulating—nearly unheard of for Omegas of any primary gender. Or that he was completely capable of having multiple mates at once. Or that he could be impregnated by any designation as long as the person made sperm.

Basically, hardly a soul on Earth was privy to the fact that Ryan Steven Bergara was a Queen.

Sure, there were other Omegas in the office—Kristin, Chantelle, Sara, Kane—but no other Queens. Which, honestly, was hardly surprising. Omegas were already a tiny fraction of the global population, and Queens were a mere fraction of that fraction. The only other Queen Ryan had ever known was his Gramma, the kindest, most soft-spoken, most beautiful, most wonderful woman he had ever known. Ryan had always been amazed by her endless patience and bottomless heart despite her two Alphas and 14 children. But Ryan supposed that she must’ve had to be so patient and giving since so many people relied on her.

Ryan was certain he would not be able to handle so many bloody children. Sure, he wanted to have kids someday, but definitely no more than two or three. And no way in hell could he have two Alphas on top of all that. Sometimes, when Ryan randomly thought of his grandfather, Alonso, and his other grandmother, Maria, he shivered. They’d scared him as a kid. Neither of them was nearly as nice as Gramma, nor did they have as much patience.

Whatever, point was that Ryan's heat was this week, and he was not ready for it in any way, shape, or form. Hell, he didn’t have his nest even remotely set up yet!

Ryan was on the verge of hyperventilating but made himself calm down and email the head of his department to say that he was going to need to take two heat days and one sick day, just in case. Unless the calendar was lying, his heat would hit Friday night, so he’d just need the beginning of the following week to slow down and recover. Jasper responded in an instant, saying not to worry and that she’d just let him have three heat days. After all, he hadn’t used the previous ones allowed to him yet, and he had this weekend off anyway.

Ryan took a breath. Crisis one averted. He added those days off to his office calendar so no one accidentally scheduled him for anything while he was out. He doubled checked that the next Unsolved episode was ready to be uploaded and that he had compiled at least some research for the next one. He glanced at his desk clock and huffed. An hour and a half. He had an hour and a half before he could go home and start freaking out all over again.

Midway through answering a few last-minute emails and half-heartedly listening to a documentary on the Bellaire House, footsteps began to approach him. A little hyperaware from the documentary’s creepy narration and music, Ryan perked up immediately, but his nerves increased when a very particular scent hit his nose.

Only two Alphas in the office smelled like trees, and only one of them smelled like he’d sat in a cedar forest while it lightly misted around him as he sipped a mug of black tea.

 _Fuck, this is exactly what I needed right now,_ Ryan scowled to himself. As the walking got louder, Ryan wiped his face blank and waited for the inevitable short joke.

“Hey, Shortstack. What are you doing in this corner of the office?”

Ryan looked up at the man towering over him. “One, fuck you, I’m only short ‘cause I’m sitting down, and two, fuck you, sometimes it gets loud and I need silence,” Ryan sassed, hoping it came off as more annoyed than playful.

Shane chuckled as he leaned down to see what Ryan was watching. “Right, right, that’s why you need this garbage playing the background. Come on, Ryan, this ghost thing is starting to impact your everyday life.”

Ryan elbowed him. “Anything to distract from the nightmare that is your face.”

“Ouch, Ryan, you really know how to tear a guy down,” Shane said, smirk so wide that Ryan shivered.

“What do you want, Shane?” Ryan sighed, done with the banter.

“Wait, I can’t just go stalking the building looking for my favorite demon-snack?”

“Shane, seriously, what it is.”

Shane pouted. “You’re no fun. I just noticed that your stuff was at your desk, but you weren’t, and it’s been almost 30 minutes since your shift ended.”

“And?” Ryan questioned. He still didn’t really know why Shane had hunted him down this particular time. Ryan’s heart beat hard for a second. Did he miss something?

“And I just wanted to know if you wanted to get food or something. Geez, Ryan. I may take back my offer if you continue to be such a little shit.” Shane tone was still playful, and he was shifting a little closer to Ryan. The room was starting to fill with petrichor, slowly but surely drowning out Ryan's pastry-scented pheromones. The Omega looked up at Shane just in time to see the other man smile a bit, his eyes crinkling at the corners, genuine. Ryan bit his lip.

_God, what I wouldn’t do…_

“Yeah, Shane, sure. Just let me finish this up and I’ll be right down.” And Ryan began tacking away at his keyboard again.

Shane didn’t make some dumb comment and leave like Ryan expected him to. Instead, the human-passing giant sat down next to him, their thighs touching just enough for Ryan to push down a pheromone spike, and played on his phone until Ryan was done. Ryan wanted to ask why Shane stayed but decided against it. The likelihood that he would even get a real answer was incredibly slim, and he was just tired enough that Shane’s asshattery would only grate on him. So he sat in silence and finished, just like he said he would.

Shane followed Ryan down the stairs from his little hideaway and immediately suggested the food trucks that came around the time it started to get dusky. Ryan was fine with that—it meant he could take a walk and maybe even forget about the absolute clusterfuck waiting for him once he got home. So he walked with Shane, laughed with him and talked about work and his brother and how he was decidedly not ready for the next Unsolved investigation. Shane made fun of him and poked him and ruffled his hair when Ryan could barely see over the bottom of the order-window of the Mexican food truck they’d chosen to eat at.

Ryan refused to mention his upcoming heat, partly because he just really, really didn’t want to talk about right then.

Mainly, it was because Shane was his officially registered heat partner.

Ryan had always felt weird about it. When he started at Buzzfeed, Steven had been his heat partner. Steven was not only Ryan’s ride-or-die, but he also knew about Ryan's real designation. Even better, Steven was a Beta. He could help Ryan without losing his mind or trying to claim him, and Steven couldn’t claim that he was coerced into sex by Ryan pheromones. Steven was completely and totally safe. But now, Steven was completely and totally cuffed. Ryan had been far more overjoyed than worried when Steven and Andrew _finally_ admitted that they’d been fucking and were now dating. But when that happened, Ryan couldn’t let Steven continue being his heat partner. Although both Andrew and Steven were okay with their arrangement, Ryan knew it would plague his thoughts while he was writhing beneath Steven’s gentle, soap-scented touches. So he re-registered with the only other person who he could even imagine sharing a heat with without exploding: Shane Alexander Madej.

Ryan regretted that decision the second they started Unsolved. Suddenly, Shane was everywhere in Ryan’s life—in his car, in his apartment, eating his food, pinching his sides, sleeping in his bed, borrowing his mugs, falling asleep on his couch, sitting and watching TV, laughing at Ryan’s terrified screams when he heard an out-of-place creak. Shane became a much bigger part of his lifestyle in a span of months, and Ryan wasn’t ready to admit how well Shane fit into what Ryan had considered an already full life.

And now, here he was again, sitting across from Ryan, laughing with his mouth full of taco, and Ryan felt his stomach sink. Sharing his heats with Shane would be nerve-wracking. Sure, Shane had to sign off on the paperwork as well, but they’d yet to share a heat at all. Steven had been with Ryan the last time the Omega had a heat back in March. And Shane was no Beta. Shane was an Alpha, a real Alpha with a deep scent and huge hands and strong arms and a knot. Ryan went through a heat with an Alpha once—he didn’t like to think about the circumstances too much. His heat had lasted only two days, just like a normal one, and he felt less empty afterward. But again, circumstances.

Above all those things, there was one other huge obstacle: Shane didn’t know that Ryan was a Queen.

Ryan intended to keep it that way, even if he had no real plan of doing so. All Ryan knew was that he couldn't reveal himself to this wonderful man, this person whose friendship with Ryan was fairly new, but full and intense. That newness meant that heat sex would muddle it. To lose Shane would probably shatter Ryan into little irreparable pieces, not to mention ruin Unsolved. As if his paternal grandparents hadn’t already sneered and glared at Ryan after his hormone tests came back. As if he didn’t already have a host of baggage from a life of fear and anxiety about being claimed. As if he didn’t have nightmares about becoming a barefoot house-Omega that was barely more than a breeder. As if Shane would ever return Ryan’s well-buried feelings.

So yeah, Shane was staying in the dark, and Ryan was going to go through his heats alone for the foreseeable future.

Ryan nibbled on his burrito, sighing something about how his Gramma used to make them so much better. Shane chuckled.

“Nothing quite like a home-cooked meal, eh? I miss my mom’s pancakes, come to think of it. Do you know how to make pancakes, Ryan?”

Ryan scrunched his nose in confusion. “Why would I know how to make pancakes, Sasquatch?”

Shane’s face became undeniably mischievous. “Oh, I dunno, I just thought that because you yourself are a shortstack—.”

“Shut up, Shane,” Ryan said, rolling his eyes so hard he almost hurt himself.

Shane actually laughed this time, a real laugh with shut eyes and no sound and teeth and bright cheeks. Ryan’s heart was in his throat. He shivered and blamed it on the chilly September night.

_Goddamnit._

_~_

The rest of the week passed far too quickly that Ryan would have liked. After dinner with Shane, he went home and frantically put some semblance of a nest together. But it was never quite good enough; the next morning, Ryan felt like death. His stomach was upset and his head hurt. To top it all off, he had hardly any food in his apartment, so he’d have to go to the store before Friday morning just so he wouldn’t starve while fucking himself on his hands. If only he had a heat partner who could do it for him—Steven had always done it. That had been nice. Ryan walked into the office, barely conscious, and was hit with a wall of panicked noise. Clearly, many deadlines were trying to be met in the next 8 hours. Ryan sighed. This was going to be the longest day of his life.

Ryan had three cups of coffee before he even felt like he was alive. Thank God for that third cup, too. Right after he finished it, Shane speed walked over to him, talking quickly about the script and the uncut footage and all this stuff that started to blend together into background noise. Ryan blinked and tried to process the words before telling Shane that he had already sent everything in and it was all fine, everything was fine, no he wasn’t sick, just tired.

Shane, ever the subtle son of a bitch, squinted at him after Ryan’s eyes stayed closed for just a bit too long. “Ryan, you look like shit.”

Ryan woke up just enough to scoff, “Thanks, asshat. Anything else?”

“Oh, feisty as well. Are you okay?” Shane leaned down to get an even better look at Ryan’s drooping face.

Beneath what he could only imagine was sadistic glee, Ryan heard a little hint of actual concern in Shane’s voice. He decided to latch onto that. His hindbrain really wanted him to. He was too tired to fight against himself. “Just… Tired. This week has been Hell on Earth, and I barely slept last night.” _I was thinking about how badly I want you to be in my nest with me in about 24 hours. And you smell good. Do you use cologne, or is that natural Alpha musk?_

Shane hmm’d. “More coffee?”

“You read my mind, Shane,” Ryan said, moving to get more, but Shane put his hands on his shoulders and pushed him back down into his chair.

“Gimme your cup, Ry. I’ll get it,” Shane said, feigning exasperation.

Ryan grinned to hide his shiver. God, Shane was strong. “Well, aren’t you generous today? Why aren’t you like this all the time? I quite like this gentlemanly side.”

Through his clouded brain, Ryan thought he saw a blush creep across Shane’s face. “Don’t get used to it, Shortie. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.” And Shane snatched Ryan’s cup from his hand and walked over to the coffeemaker.

Ryan let himself daze over, a victorious grin on his face. When Shane came back, all cedar woods and warmth and black tea, Ryan barely held back his purr. No city boy should smell like that. Shane gave Ryan his mug, mumbling something about incompetence, but Ryan was already gulping down the drink, no sugar or cream needed.

“Jesus, Ryan, don’t burn yourself!” Shane said just a tinge too loud, but Ryan only pulled the mug away and moaned like he’d just been reborn.

“Thank you, Alpha,” Ryan mumbled before it even crossed his mind to shut the hell up.

Shane made the smallest gasp, so quiet that Ryan almost didn’t catch it, and fiddled with his hands before muttering “You’re welcome,” and almost speed walking off to his corner of the office.

By the time the Omega processed what he’d said, Shane was long gone, and the coffee was nearly drunk. The coffee might’ve cured his exhaustion and his headache, but the pit in Ryan's stomach was still there. Ryan wondered if he’d just done something terribly wrong.

~

Ryan made sure to avoid running into Shane again, but he also had good reason to do so—he had to finish quickly so he could get to the store before rush hour and stock up. Sure, maybe Devon’s eyes were concerned when she walked past him that afternoon, and maybe Freddie was a little extra touchy with him, but Ryan could also have been imagining it. But he couldn’t hide from Steven. The Beta took one look at him from across the room and knew instantly. Ryan smelled the Beta’s clean, soapy scent before he heard him, and when Steven slowly spun him around in his chair, Ryan couldn’t really pretend. Steven was safe.

“Christ, Ryan, you didn’t sleep, did you?” Steven asked, running his hand through Ryan’s mussed up hair. “Please tell me you aren’t coming to work tomorrow.”

“I’m not. Friday through Tuesday I’ve got off.” Ryan shuddered when Steven scraped behind his ear.

“Okay, good. Now, please tell me someone’s going to be there you.”

Ryan froze, unable to come up with any convincing lie. “Well, um…” Ryan trailed off. He was too fucking tired for this shit. Also, did he really think he could lie to Steven?

Steven’s expression darkened. “Ryan, you can’t be serious. You need to have someone there and make sure you get aftercare at the very least. Shouldn’t Shane be coming over?”

Ryan shushed Steven so quickly that the Beta took a step back before glaring at Ryan like he just offended his mother. “He doesn’t know, does he?” Steven said. He didn’t even let Ryan answer before he sighed. “Ryan, you can’t just not tell him. He’s your heat partner. Do you not trust him or something? Because if so, that’s—.”

“No, no, it’s not that I don’t trust him, Stef, it’s just…” Ryan trailed off again, unable to justify his reasoning.

“Ryan, you need to tell him. Better you than HR.” Steven crossed his arms, his face now less angry and more disappointed. “You know, Ryan, I will help you if you need it. You know that, right? If you really aren’t comfortable, I will come, obviously. Please let me know if you need me, okay?"

Ryan sighed. “I know. Thank you."

Steven rubbed his shoulder before getting back to work, and Ryan felt even more hopeless than before.

_Fuck, now what?_

Suddenly, Ryan caught Shane coming toward him out of the corner of his eye, and Ryan’s tired brain didn’t know if it wanted to panic and run for throw his body at Shane’s feet. Jesus Christ, the Universe was fucking cruel. Ryan eyes glazed over a bit as he watched the Alpha's body move. God, Shane looked so nice today—he should wear flannel shirts more often, especially in that deep red color. With how tired he was before, Ryan’s hadn’t noticed, but now...

Ryan was staring, he knew he was staring, and he knew he staring because Shane was staring back. And holy shit, Shane was getting closer, his scent was getting closer. That smirk was getting closer. Oh, fuck.

_You could tell him. Shane wouldn’t say no. He’d help you. The Alpha would help you._

Look, Ryan was a scaredy-cat. He’d never claim to be anything else.

And with that, ladies and gentlemen, Ryan Bergara closed his laptop, snagged his jacket, shoved a few loose papers in his pockets, and ran.

~

Ryan barely made it to the store before it got crazy, but he had a pre-made list for his heat days. He could easily get out in 20 minutes if he stayed focused. But, that was easier said than done. He knew he was getting close—he was getting looks for the other shoppers. Eyebrows were going up, and pupils were enlarging. Ryan just pulled his jacket closer and drove home while doing his best to not crash every time he felt a cramp gather in his abdomen.

He almost prayed to some god when he got home safely. After throwing back two Allegras, he put everything away in its proper places and added the final touches on his nest. It was now nice and plush, nearly every soft thing he owned was now sitting on his bed in a nice rounded shape. It all smelled like him—his soft pastry scent was slowly morphing into something deeper and sweeter, like a cake bakery. Ryan had scented a few key things before making his nest, just for comfort’s sake. He chuckled half-heartedly at the indent in the middle where he’d been sleeping. This nest would be almost destroyed by the time his heat ended, and he would need to do so much laundry.

But that was for future Ryan to worry about.

For now, all the Queen could do was strip, grab his navy blue silk pajama pants, and try to sleep.

_Sorry, Steven. I just couldn’t tell him._

~

When Ryan blinked himself awake on Friday morning, he felt the tension in his back, the soreness in his gut, the cotton in his head, and he knew it was here. Without a doubt, Ryan was in heat. Ryan groaned and tears gathered in his eyes—fucking hormones. He could admit he wanted someone with him right now, but he refused to say who, even to the walls. Hungry and empty, Ryan pulled himself out of his nest and stumbled to the kitchen.

Ryan’s cupboards were full of sugary cereals, dried fruit, energy bars, and instant oatmeal, while his fridge held chocolate, all flavors of yogurt, and several pre-made meals like lasagna, rice and beans, and lentils. He spiritually thanked Steven for putting together that list all those years ago. The Beta always came through, even when he wasn’t physically there. Ryan tore open a bag of dried tangerines and settled into his couch, throwing back a few more Allegras before beginning a Disney movie marathon. Literally what else could he do?

~

It was now late afternoon, and Ryan was uncomfortable. Like, not "I wearing the wrong underwear for these pants" uncomfortable. Not "oops, I made eye contact with my ex from across the party" uncomfortable. Not even "I can't calm down this crying baby in a room of people who already hate me" uncomfortable. No, Ryan was "I've changed my underwear three fucking times in the past hour and I would get anything for a decent dick right now" uncomfortable.

Cinderella had just begun to sing about nightingales and Ryan couldn't keep still. He wanted to go into his bedroom and reach under his bed for that little black box. It would provide some relief, at least for a little while, but he always felt like the walls were judging him when he pulled it. Judgment was something he didn't need any more of.

However, by the time Cinderella was at the ball, Ryan had given in and was having a ball of his own. He barely touched himself before he was clenching around his favorite blue dildo and pulsing into his hand. Ryan prayed that it would enough to cool the heat for the rest of the night, but given that the heat in his gut came back mere minutes after a third orgasm, Ryan felt dread pool in his chest. Frustrated, Ryan put the toys away and cleaned up. Cinderella had been locked in the attic, the lasagna had been half eaten and put away, and by that time, Ryan fell into a fitful sleep.

~

The next morning, Ryan felt cramped and ravenous in multiple ways, but the desire was merely a simmer under his skin, not a boiling need. even though his skin tingled and he could have eaten a horse, Ryan decided he could shove it down for a shower and some name brand sugary cereal. He stepped beneath warm spray and let the steamy air clear his lungs. God, the warmth felt good, almost as good as Shane pressing his body up against Ryan’s that one time they went ice-skating and Ryan had never skated before in his life while Shane, fucking Chicago boy, was literally skating circles around him. Ryan slapped himself. No boner, only getting clean.

He shampooed and conditioned, then took extra time to scrub and soap his entire body. After drying off, he slathered himself in cocoa butter lotion and put on his favorite sweatpants, eager to eat two full bowls of sugary goodness. The cereal was just as good as he hoped, and, despite the growing heat under his skin, he felt markedly better after breakfast. What had he been so worried about? Going about his heat alone was fine. But, as he was washing the single bowl and spoon he used, a wave of heat and slick hit him so intensely that he nearly fell to the floor. Ryan somehow managed to cover his shirt in water on the way down—fucking spoons. He would worry about the mess after he curled up into the fetal position and rode out the pleasure-pain currently wracking his body in ripples, some strong enough to make him yell out to no one.

_Fuck._

Five minutes later, Ryan was able to stand and turn the faucet off. He felt another cramp preparing to burst, and Ryan knew he’d have to get back to his nest. He stumbled his way back to his bedroom and fell into it face-first. After a moment of consideration and a generous amount of slick, Ryan slid off the bed and reached underneath the bed frame, again pulling out his little black box of secrets. He selected a dark blue dildo with a manageable length and spent a moment eyeing it. _Is this really the best alternative?_ Ryan wondered. _Shane would help me._

Ryan had his phone in his hand before he could fully disperse that thought.

“Shit, Ryan, what are you doing, fucking idiot?” Ryan berated himself aloud, hoping the invisible eyes could see that he was putting some resistance. As if that would save him.

And yet, Ryan was staring at the phone in his hand as though it was a lifeline. Shane had agreed to be his heat partner if he ever needed him. Hell, he was enthusiastic when they signed the paperwork together. Ryan, obviously, had been embarrassed out of his mind—here was this beautiful man, an Alpha, no less, offering to spend two or three days holed up in a pit of pillows and sex juices—but literally every other working Alpha and Omega had a heat partner on file. It was a federal policy that every workplace have heat partners for emergencies or whatever. Like Ryan gave a shit at the moment.

But still, Ryan had promised himself that he would not resort to Shane, and he intended to hold himself to that. To hell with aftercare and emotions and whatever the fuck else Steven had said. He’d manage—he did it in college before he’d figured out his sexuality, he could do it now.

He had all kinds of excuses not to call Shane and beg for help. The Alpha was too energetic, too tall, too intimidating, too strong, too much his friend. And Ryan, Ryan was too sassy, too tired, not nearly as beautiful, far too independent, a Queen. But the biggest one was that he liked him. Ryan liked his scent and his smile and how kind he was to the interns. He liked his laugh and his hands and his slimness and how he insisted on bringing Sara tea even when the pink-haired Omega insisted she wasn't sick.

Ryan had refused to admit to anyone, even himself, that he wanted Shane. He barely dared to dream about it. And here he was, phone in hand, ready to beg him for it, wanting it, wanting _him_ , but wary and fearful and still in denial. Ryan was a Queen, an Omega on steroids, and that was a huge deterrent. Most Alphas weren’t ready to live under an Omega’s thumb and not the other way around. Ryan would have more sway on Shane that Shane would on him, could saddle Shane with kids if shit went sideways, could one-way bond Shane on accident and fuck Shane up for the rest of his life.

Ryan sighed. He was thinking too much about this. He needed to have an orgasm or three, change his underwear, and think about it later. He reminded himself of the dildo, bit his lip, and made a mental note to do some laundry right before the blue silicone split him open, making him whimper and shiver. Yeah, he'd think about this in a minute.

~

A minute turned into two hours of vibrators, two decently large dildos, a stream of slick, three empty water bottles, an empty bag of dried strawberries, and a bar of chocolate. Yet, through all of that, Ryan had only managed about four orgasms, a deeply unsatisfying amount for someone as consumed by heat. He was uncomfortable again. His skin was crawling and burning with unmet needs, his eyes dry and head full of both cotton and thoughts of one particular half-man half-Yeti.

Shane had been the only reason he had been able to cum at all. And that was a problem.

"What am I going to do?” Ryan moaned to the air.

 _Nothing,_ the walls answered back.

Just as Ryan wiped unexpected tears from his eyes, his phone buzzed. Apparently, there was just enough battery left on it to receive a call. Ryan cleared his brain long enough to see who was calling him.

_Shane (tall dickhead)_

Ryan froze. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Why was he calling him? Was something wrong at the office? Was Steven okay? And Jen? What was happening? Panic overrode any kind of other real, valid feeling when Ryan picked up.

“Hello, Shane?” Ryan asked. Shane gave an uncharacteristically relieved sign on the other end, to which Ryan frowned inquisitively.

"Oh, thank God. I thought I was gonna have to come over and check on you. You okay? I've called a couple of times.” Shane said.

Ryan bit his lip. _Sorry I didn't answer. I was fucking myself silly while thinking of your face._

"Uh, y-yeah, I'm fine. How about you?”

“I'm good. You need me to bring anything over?” Shane’s voice almost sounded fevered, like he was having issues breathing and talking at the same time.

Heat forgotten, Ryan furrowed his brow. What the hell was up with Shane? "What? No, Shane. You don't have to bring anything over. Why are you—?” Ryan tried to ask.

Shane abruptly cut Ryan off. "Aren't you in heat? Isn't this what you do when your heat partner is…?”

Ryan almost dropped the phone. What? Fucking _what_ ? How in the ever-loving fuck did Shane know he was in heat? Ryan tried to hide his sharp intake of air and thanked some god that Shane couldn’t smell his stress through the receiver. He couldn’t even reach past his panic and find a lie to tell. In that awkward beat of silence, understanding washed over Ryan. The Omega nearly growled aloud. Steven must have told him. Must have asked why he was in the office when his heat partner was, well, in heat. He must have finally lost his mind when he realized that Ryan was alone _._ He must have been worried. He probably just wanted to make sure Ryan was okay.

The Omega couldn't decide if he was going to send Steven flowers or a very angry email.

Ryan shivered as a moderate wave of hormones spiked through his body. Everything was rushing straight to his core, setting the temperature to high and leaving it there. Had he not just gotten off? It didn't feel like he did. Realizing that any more talking would only make it worse, Ryan stumbled through his next several words.

"Uh, Shane? I-I got to go. I-I'll see you later,” Ryan mumbled as a cramp twisted in his abdomen.

"Wait, seriously, Ryan, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. J-Just—?” Ryan bit on a pillow as the cramp clenched and released for a moment.

Shane must’ve heard his painted grunts since his voice went up in pitch. "Don't say that. You sure as hell don't sound fine. Gimme one sec. I'll be right over,” Shane stated.

Ryan almost screamed, both from the pain and the terrifying realization that Shane was on his way over. Now. While Ryan was writhing in his own slick. “Shane, please, you don't n—!" He tried. But the call ended.

_Oh, shit._

_~_

Upon knowing that Shane was very much on his way to his apartment, Ryan called him two more times with no answer. The little shit. So, he appropriately went on a cleaning bender, putting all of his toys away in the shame box, putting all of his dirty underwear in the basket, and clearing the whole area of garbage and randomness. Ryan nearly sobbed—he didn't have enough time for the scent diffuser, so that was gonna suck a huge pair of balls. Maybe Shane’s…

Goddamnit.

Ryan considered his options. In his state, well, he literally couldn’t do a damn thing, like leave, but he was coherent and talking and conscious, so he could communicate wants and needs. That would just have to do. Ryan tried to feign normalcy, brewing tea and sipping tentatively as he waited for the inevitable knocking. The fear and panic had crushed any lingering arousal, but he knew that was a short-time thing. He found it cruelly ironic that Shane was rude enough to only ever stop over when he wasn't wanted. Actually, scratch that, he was incredibly wanted, just… Maybe in a different life, Ryan could have Shane. Just not this one.

God, he was fucked in multiple ways. And all he could do was wait.

After ten or so minutes, a soft knock signaled the arrival of a certain giant. Ryan took a steadying breath before opening the door, accepting his fate. _Whatever you do, Bergara, do not mention that you are a Queen. You can do that._ The door creaked as he tugged it open, heat making him weaker than he was used to. When he opened it, he got the deep scent of misty woods and the wonderfulness of a tea shop. Shane stared at him, balanced on the edge of the threshold like a vampire, but flushed from the cold air and from hurrying here. Ryan couldn't take this. The throb that pounded through him nearly made him sink to his knees with its intensity.

Ryan fought the urge to kneel and instead huffed at the Alpha. If he was going to die, he could at least use his sass to defend himself. "I'm guessing that you are either deaf or just a horrible listener. I told you that you didn't need to come over and that you didn't need to bring anything, yourself included,” Ryan grumbled.

A wobbly smirk spread across Shane’s face. "Well, as your registered heat partner, I had all the excuses needed to leave work. And, uh, Steven kept urging me to call you.” Shane mumbled the last sentence.

Ryan rolled his eyes with all of his ability. "Fucking knew it.” _I will get you back for this, Steven!_

Shane merely shrugged. "Yeah, I know. But he was worried. And I technically have the legal standing to check on you. Perks of the job, right? You sounded like you needed comfort, anyway.” Shane’s scent deepened into one of satisfaction and protection. Ryan throbbed again, struggling to squish both his arousal and scent spike. He tried to take a subtle step back and away.

“Jesus, Shane, I told you I was fine!” Ryan could tell his scent was souring in annoyance. Shane’s nose was scrunching up. Good.

Shane shifted from foot to foot as if he wanted to come in but wasn’t quite ready to ask if he could be let in. Ryan pinched his nose. Oh, this was such a fucking bad idea. But what the hell was he going to do, just let Shane stand there looking uncharacteristically dejected and nervous? Shane was his friend, after all.

“Fine, Sasquatch, I guess you can stay for a bit,” Ryan mumbled. _Like I'd be able to say no to you in this state. "_ I still have to do laundry and finish some dishes. Can you entertain yourself for a little?” Ryan was doing his best, he really was. And that was fucking hard to do with Shane right fucking there.

Shane stepped over the threshold and hung his coat—oh, God, Shane’s wearing a flannel—before furrowing his brow at Ryan. "What? How are you doing chores right now?”

Ryan choked. Honestly, he doubted he could do those things. It had been too long since he'd gotten himself off, but what other choice did he have? He scoffed at Shane as an answer and inched his way over to the kitchen sink.

"You're welcome to hole up on the couch while I finish. Want some tea?” Ryan's voice was a bit more wobbly than he would have liked, but he got the words out.

Silence stood for a few moments, and Ryan turned to see if Shane had vanished or something. But no, he was still there, gazing at Ryan, his eyes darkening. Ryan shivered. While he had been fighting hard to keep his scent under control, it seemed that Shane had no such worries. Ryan's kitchen now smelled like a deep, gloriously damp forest, and Ryan wanted to pocket that scent and wear it. It was so intense. That smell alone had him angling his hips toward the sink to hide the tent in his sweatpants. He didn’t need to be any more embarrassed than he already was. The potential that Shane would send Ryan overboard was so ridiculously high that it was frightening. Ryan blinked at him, trying to hide the slight rush of slick by shifting his body to the side. He tried to talk again, a soapy mug in hand.

"H-hey, Asshat? You alive in there? I said you could go sit on the couch if you want.”

Shane jolted when he heard Ryan's voice a second time. "Oh, sorry! Do you want me to go sit? But, uh…”

"'But' what, Shane?” Ryan asked. _And why are you acting so damn weird?_

Shane ran his hand through his hair, messing it up. "Uh, can I, um, stay in here with you? I don't really want you to be by yourself. I'm sorry. It's just, like, an Alpha thing." And with that, he looked at Ryan through the brown puff hanging in his face, his eyes still as fervent as before.

Ryan had no words. What in the hell was Shane playing at? What could he gain from hanging out in the kitchen with Ryan while he tried to remain standing and not cut himself on a butterknife? His mind chewed on Shane's request. If he stayed here, the chance of Ryan begging him for just a little taste was about 98 percent, and that was not happening. But, Ryan realized he'd have to join Shane on the couch later and have to endure being close next to him for a little while, no matter if he stayed in the kitchen with him or not. Maybe if he gave Shane this little bit, he’d leave sooner. Ryan took a breath and nodded. He didn't need to look at Shane to know the Alpha was smiling.

Ryan continued to shakily wash dishes but stilled when he heard Shane walk toward him. He froze, unsure what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised when Shane’s long fingers gently massaged his shoulders. Ryan was a lot tenser than remembered being.

“Jesus, Ryan, do you have rocks for muscles?” Shane said, trying to hide his blooming arousal through humor. “It’s like trying to massage a brick wall.”

Feeling comforted by the promise of normal, friendly banter, Ryan wheezed. “Well, it takes a lot of strength to hold up the entirety of the Unsolved franchise. I wouldn’t nearly be so tense if I had a decent co-host.”

Shane retaliated by pushing hard into one particular knot settled right inside Ryan’s shoulder blade. Ryan hissed and arched, unsure if he wanted more or less of that touch, but by the time he realized what he wanted, Shane’s touch softened. “Right, Bergara, your theories and panic and the Spirit Box and your cute face are all Unsolved needs to stay afloat.”

Ryan tried to hide his pants behind a very winded “Fuck you.” Ryan hated how that sounded less like an insult and more like a promise.

Unconsciously, Ryan leaned into Shane, letting him melt his tension away with every press of fingertip into muscle. Rather than making him spiral down, Ryan felt more centered, like his head was clearer and words made more sense. His body wasn't pulsing like it had been before, and he could feel himself taking deep breaths. How long had it been since he'd had air? Shane's scent was filtering into his head, filling it with empty space.

But then Shane growled.

It wasn't aggressive; it wasn't a warning; it wasn't threatening. If anything, it was the closest Alphas could get to purring. Ryan would sometimes sit with his brother and parents in a pile back when he was younger. He'd fall asleep on his mom's lap to the sound of his parents purring and rumbling in tandem. It was always the safest and most comfortable he'd ever felt.

But oh, wow, was this a different situation entirely.

Shane was much, much closer now. His whole upper body was pressed against Ryan's back, and he could both feel and hear the rumbles seep into his skin. Now, rather than massaging Ryan, Shane was running his fingertips up and down his back, tracing Ryan's spine, stroking his sides, brushing across his hips. There was no way that he couldn't feel the Omega’s subtle trembling. The touches were quickly eroding Ryan's desperate attempts not to start purring back, to release the pheromones he'd been holding in so tightly. He twitched and bit his lip, stifling a sigh, when Shane wrapped his fingers around Ryan’s sharp hipbones and dug his thumbs into his lower back.

Ryan’s lower back was sensitive. Especially when Shane touched him.

_Oh, fuck._

Ryan was definitely going to need to change his underwear. And maybe take the coldest shower ever. _Yeah, good plan, Bergara. You just have to get off of this Alpha who is undoubtedly trying to drive you up the wall for some reason_.

Ryan pouted. There was a chance that Shane was just messing with him. It hurt Ryan to think that, but it was not impossible. Hell, it was even probable. Ryan was just trying to come up with an excuse to break away when Shane's rumbling stopped. Ryan blinked—when did he shut his eyes?—and whipped his head around when he heard the Alpha start to chuckle.

"You doing okay, Ry? That bowl seems pretty clean already, huh?” Shane's voice was right next to Ryan's ear. Ryan looked down to realize he’d been circling his sponge around the same bowl for minutes now.

Ryan tried to get some control over his own voice. "Sh-shut up, Shane. I'm just trying to get this done." He then dropped the bowl into the soapy water.

Ryan felt his ears turn pink at the same moment that Shane started pressing small circles into the space right above where Ryan’s sweatpants ended—and they ended low. Ryan refused to make any noise from this, not in front of the picture of him and his brother when they were kids.

But holy fuck, that was so, so hard. Sighs were escaping his mouth regardless of how hard Ryan but his lip. If he wasn't pinned between the sink and Shane's hips, he would be in a puddle on the floor.

Shane chuckled. "Come on, shrimpy, you can barely stand. I know you're trying to act like nothing is wrong, but I can tell you're uncomfortable. As shocking as it may seem, I only act like a dumbass.” Shane rested his chin on Ryan's head. _God, Shane is so big._ “Is me touching you okay?" 

 

Taken off guard, Ryan bit his lip and didn’t respond.  _Yes,_ something whispered.  _Yes. More than anything._ He shoved that thought down so hard he almost jerked. 

Shane’s scent went from protective to concerned in an instant. “Ryan, I really need you to talk to me.” Shane swallowed—Ryan felt his heartbeat speed up. “Look, I’m sorry. I know this was unexpected. I wasn't planning on barging in, but when I called, I just… I don’t know, I felt like I had to come and make sure you were alright.”

Ryan was sure that he was melting. When the fuck did Shane sound so sincere and quiet and innocent? Who gave this fucking Alpha the ability to sound so fucking genuine?

Ryan sniffled. "It's not like I _don't_ want you here, Shane. I’m just kinda used to going through heats alone.”

A lie. A complete lie.

“Ryan, you know that's not good for you.” Shane continued rubbing circles into Ryan’s lower back with his thumbs. “You’re not very good at taking care of yourself, are you? I realized that before, but especially when I saw you the other day. Do you really have no one to take care of you?”  Ryan’s knees trembled—he was way overdue for an orgasm and if this Alpha kept going, he'd soak himself. He was losing his ability to make good decisions. Shane pressed both of his thumbs to one particular part of his spine and Ryan arched. Something between a gasp and a sigh slid from his mouth, and his hands gripped the edges of the sink as he trembled. It was only with the grace of God that he didn't let all of his pheromones loose.

Shane stopped immediately, and Ryan was almost disappointed. "Oh, fuck, Ryan, I'm sorry. Are you oka—?”

"Do that again,” Ryan interrupted, his voice just barely above a fevered whisper. _Wait, what? What am I saying?_

Shane’s face went crimson. "H-huh?”

Ryan jerked back to reality. _Wow, I'm an idiot._ "Oh, no, nothing. I-I'm fine, really.”

Ryan didn't need to turn around to know that Shane had gotten over his initial surprise and was smirking, even if he was redder than Ryan was. "Are you sure, Ry?”

Again, Shane pressed both of his thumbs into Ryan's lower spine, a little deeper this time, and again, Ryan arched, biting his lip to keep his squeak to himself. His hindbrain was overjoyed with the attention. Ryan knew that if he didn’t have a hold on his pheromones, Shane would smell it, and Ryan would be fucked. Shane could so easily bend Ryan over right here, at the kitchen sink, and slide in as deep as he could with no resistance, no prep, no problem. Ryan's body would let him do it. His hindbrain would let him do it. Ryan himself was close to letting him do it.

_What on Earth am I getting myself into?_

Ryan felt Shane's nose sink into his dark, messy hair, the Alpha's hands sliding up and down his sides. Ryan twitched. Shane was so close. He smelled so good. His hands were surprisingly softer than Ryan imagined. He'd been so gentle with him. Ryan shook his head to try and clear his thoughts. Shane felt it. Of course he did. “Ryan, do you wanna go to the couch now? I don't think you'll really be getting any chores done. Whaddaya say?” Shane's words were far more innocent than his tone. His voice snaked up Ryan's neck and left fire in its wake. Shane's thumbs returned to their spot on his back, rubbing delicate circles, and Ryan instinctively knew that he was about to press down again, just to prove a point.

_If we move, maybe he won't do it. Maybe I can put just a little space between us and I'll get ahold of myself again._

"Y-yeah, sure. Want to watch a movie? I have literally every single Disney movie in existence. Keeps me distracted.”

Shane sighed. "That sounds nice. If that's what you need to relax, then perfect.”

"Good.” Ryan moved to push away from the sink but was suddenly being carried bridal style over to the living room. Surprised, Ryan yelped and wound his arms around Shane's neck. “Shane, Jesus Christ, fucking warn me next time. I don't like being picked up.” Ryan squirmed, just to test Shane’s grip, and shivered when he didn't falter.

_God, he's strong._

Shane chuckled, and the scent of protective, warm, _aroused_ Alpha hit Ryan's nose. "Humor me, Ry. As if you walk right now.”

"Fuck you, man,” Ryan grumbled, wiggling again just to make a scene of it.

Shane scoffed. "You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

Unable to come up with a witty comeback, Ryan just rolled his eyes.

Finally, finally, Shane got to the couch, and Ryan scrambled to get out of his huge, secure arms. He had to get out. Had to. He was so so so close to just letting this Alpha ravish him, to hell with his reservations and unworthiness. He wanted it. Shane smelled wonderful, and Ryan was positive that he'd feel perfect. His heat would break if he let Shane loose on his body. He'd be able to go back to work on Monday. He'd wake up in the morning satisfied rather than miserable. Maybe he'd get eaten out for the first time in ages.

But there were his family pictures, sitting on his mantlepiece, staring at him. Judging. _A Queen, indeed. I can’t believe it._

So Ryan stumbled over and sat down hard on one end of the couch, hoping that Shane would get the hint to put a little space between them. But after putting _The Princess and the Frog_ into the TV, the Alpha sat right next to him and tugged him into his lap. Ryan resisted for a second, apprehensive about getting even closer to the Alpha than he had before.

“Ryan,” Shane said softly, "It's okay. You're okay. I'm not going to do anything you aren't comfortable with. I know this is the first time I’ve been with you during a heat, but I do know that you need some kind of contact, right?” Ryan shivered. Shane's hands started to massage his shoulders again. The Omega's mouth fell open in a quiet sigh. “Relax, Ryan. You're safe." He rubbed across his shoulders, his touch warm and solid.

Ryan, for just a moment, let himself believe that was true, even though his brain had all kinds of alarms going off.

Halfway through the movie, Ryan was almost asleep. He'd close his eyes for a second, only to open them at a later scene in the movie. At some point, he let his body lean against Shane’s chest. The Alpha’s arms tentatively wrapped around Ryan’s much smaller shoulders, and when Ryan didn’t protest, they settled there and pulled Ryan in closer. God, he was warm. Why had he never asked for help again? Shane's nose was against his neck, breathing into his skin, and Ryan couldn't find it in himself to hold back the softest moan. _Safe, safe,_ his Hindbrain whispered. _He was always safe with Shane._ Shane has been at every haunted location, almost every shoot, at every script editing session. Shane had been there. Maybe he’d always been there. He was being so kind. Shane was just so damn warm. Ryan halfheartedly noticed that he hadn’t felt a cramp in over an hour.

Just as Ryan was about to drift off again, Shane shifted. His mouth was right near Ryan's ear, and Ryan felt goosebumps erupt on his skin. "So this was what you really smell like, huh? I was wondering if you were holding your scent in. God, it’s delicious.” Ryan trembled as Shane took a deep breath, his exhale tickling his ear. “Like a fairytale bakery or something.”

 

Ryan was just about to make some sass when Shane whispered into his neck. "Ryan, you're lovely.”

Ryan couldn't help it. Those words undid him. He couldn’t even think about where Shane’s words were coming from or what he could have possibly meant by them. His hindbrain took over his body for a moment, and Ryan's scent spiked just as a wave of slick coated his underwear. He was suddenly beyond embarrassed—if he'd been in his right mind, he'd be running to the bathroom to rinse himself off and then hide in his closet. But he was encased in warm, strong, gentle Alpha, and he couldn't move if he tried.

What Ryan wasn't quite prepared for was the pheromone spike that followed his. Shane's deep, wet cedar scent washed over Ryan, making him shiver and twitch. _Oh, my God, it's so good._ Shane's grip on him was a little tighter than before, and he was panting into his neck. Ryan was suddenly violently aware of Shane’s quick heartbeat and the warm pressure pressed against his butt.

_Holy shit. I'm going to die._

“Ryan,” Shane sighed, causing the Omega to shift. "You have to tell me what you want me to do. I can do my best to just keep sitting here and cuddling you, but I don't think I can do that if you're going to keep scenting me like this.” Shane trembled, desperately trying to keep himself from flipping them around and pressing Ryan deep into the couch cushions with all his body weight before wrecking him. Ryan was the one in charge, the one whose trust he had to earn. He had to make this good for Ryan. It had to be whatever Ryan wanted it to be.

Shane shivered with anxiety. He'd be a wreck if Ryan made him leave, or he never spoke to him again, or he lost his chance.

Ryan furrowed his brow. _What the fuck? Why isn’t my body listening to me? Why can’t I hold—?_ Shane's hands slid down his back, his fingers cupping Ryan's hips, his thumbs pressed against his lower spine. Ryan almost flinched.

_If he does that, I'm done for._

Shane pressed his thumbs in, deeper than he ever had before, and Ryan lost it. His scent spiked, he slicked up even more, he arched against Shane, and he let out a drawn-out moan that he knew Shane heard.

Shane froze and suddenly Ryan was drowning in Shane’s deep scent. "Oh, God, Ryan. If you don't tell me to stop right now...” Ryan felt Shane’s gravelly voice rumble through his whole body.

Ryan whined. “Shane, just—.” Ryan fought to get control of his breathing. It was so hard to not pant.

“What, Ryan?” Shane rumbled, nothing but lust and Alpha and everything Ryan told himself he couldn’t have. Ryan blinked and turned to face Shane. He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against the Alpha’s.

_I give up._

“Shane, fuck me."

Ryan’s back hit the cushions before he even had a chance to finish his sentence. Shane was over him, his body extending the entire length of the couch, and Ryan’s eyes went wide. He was always taken aback by Shane’s size. Shane could totally cover Ryan, head to toe, with room to spare, and Ryan loved it. The Omega in him was fucking beaming—he’d managed to convince such a good mate to bed him, even if it was just this one time. Ryan felt Shane’s breath on his upper lip, but something in him made him hold still, even while the Alpha above him slid a cautious hand beneath Ryan’s shirt, feeling his warm skin for the first time. Ryan threw his head back when Shane ran his finger tips over his abs, relishing how it cooled him down and set him on fire simultaneously.

Shane was panting above him, his pupils enormous and dark, his scent coating the back of Ryan’s throat. God, he could taste Shane in the air, and it was better than he could have ever imagined.

“Fuck, Ry, you’re so soft,” Shane said, voice full of awe. “Do you work out?” He asked as he slowly slid Ryan’s shirt up. “Seems like it.”

Ryan chuckled despite the heat in his blood. “I mean, gotta be able to outrun the demons, y’know?”

“Ryan, don’t even. The only thing you should be thinking about right now is all the different surfaces you’re gonna be bent over.”

Ryan wished he didn’t look at Shane at that moment because the Alpha had the most predatory grin on his face, and Ryan couldn’t handle that.

_Great, more slick._

“You like it when I talk to you, huh?” Shane rumbled, catching Ryan’s attention immediately.

“S-says who, Mothman?” Ryan stuttered out, writhing as Shane slid his free hand down his bare back. _Fucking huge hands._

“Come on, baby. You think I can’t smell you slicking up every time I tell you what I’m gonna do to you?” Shane pressed his chest to Ryan’s and licked a broad strip up Ryan’s jugular and right over his scent glands. Ryan squirmed, unintentionally grinding up against Shane, making the Alpha hiss. “Careful, Ryan. I’m trying to take my time with you. Can’t do that if wear down my control like that.” Shane bit Ryan’s ear, and Ryan tried to be still, but every touch was pushing him closer to the edge of insanity. His hindbrain was almost completely in charge, and he was spiraling.

“Shane, fucking, uhn! Ah! St-stop teasing me, I can’t take it.” Ryan clutched at Shane’s back, and the Alpha put all of his weight on him. The air went out of Ryan—he was completely covered, totally protected.

Ryan felt an urge bubble in his throat, and he could hold it back. He took in a deep breath of cedar and home and tea, held it for a moment, and purred.

Starstruck, Shane leaned up, grabbed Ryan’s chin, and gave him the most passionate kiss Ryan had ever have the privilege of experiencing. There was no timidness in Shane’s movements—he swiped his tongue along the Omega’s lips, and Ryan only held out for a moment to get a breath of air. Just after he inhaled, Shane's tongue pressed against his, tracing it and coaxing it out to suck on it. Ryan groaned low in his throat when Shane’s hands tightened around his waist and pulled him just a bit closer. Ryan let Shane guide him through the whole kiss, unable to clearly think about what was going on. He pulled when Shane pushed, dug his fingers into Shane's soft hair and scratched his scalp, sighed into his mouth when the Alpha did something particularly toe-curling.

Ryan shifted, trying to get a better angle, and Shane only gave him enough room to shift before he was pressing down again and having his mouth ravished. Shane had completely enveloped him.

Shane slid his mouth against the Omega squirming beneath him, giving his tongue a final suck before pulling away for air. Ryan gasped and panted when their lips disconnected, his eyes teary and face flushed. Shane slid his hands down the Omega’s sides to wrap his hands around Ryan’s hips. The sweet, cloying scent of pastry dough floated up into the air, and Shane rolled his hips forward while pulling Ryan's hips up toward him.

“Fuck, Shane, you dick! That-that’s cheating. Y-you can’t just—Nugh!” Ryan’s eyes rolled back into his skull as Shane merely smirked before repeating that action.

_I’m going to die._

“Aw, doesn’t that feel good, Ryan? Being pinned down while I wreck you? I personally love this.” Shane’s voice was much deeper than it had been, and Ryan felt chills go up his spine. Fuck, Shane had him as taut as a bowstring.

Shane kept grinding down, and Ryan felt his legs spread wider and wider, letting Shane slot himself between them. Shane used this moment to shift up onto his knees and pull Ryan’s hips onto his upper thighs, effectively changing the angle of Shane grinds. Now, instead of having their cocks pressed together, Ryan felt Shane pressed right up against his hole. Suddenly, Ryan couldn’t do anything but focus on the pressure right at his entrance.

A hot, huge, promise-filled pressure.

Ryan arched, hungry for this new sensation, and Shane growled—full out shook the walls of the living room—before grinding deep. Ryan’s eyes crossed.

_Yes yes yes yes yes that_ _’_ _s it that_ _’_ _s IT!_

“I warned you once already, Omega,” Shane rumbled, scent dripping with lust and Ryan saw Shane’s canines sharpen just a smidge when he looked up at him.

Something in Ryan snapped.

Now, Ryan was indeed an Omega, but he was also a Queen, and Queens didn’t simply lie down and take whatever their mate threw at them. And they certainly wouldn’t be so forgiving with a first-time partner. Shane needed to be reminded who was actually in charge of this encounter.

Almost completely on instinct, Ryan surged up and pushed Shane backward until the Alpha was leaning against the couch’s armrest and Ryan was straddling his lap, looking down at Shane with blazing eyes. Shane’s eyes were wide in surprise, but the arousal never left them. If anything, the arousal deepened, and Shane wrapped his arms around Ryan’s waist.

“Topping from the bottom? How bold. I never woulda guessed you had that in you,” Shane kissed up Ryan’s neck, and Ryan melted back into goo. Why did he do this, again? What was his fucking plan?

“Shane, come on, please. Just take your dick out, already!” The moment those words left his mouth, Ryan clamped his lips together. He’d almost used his voice. Fuck, he’d almost just commanded Shane to fuck him. That would have given away his status as a Queen instantaneously, even more so than how Ryan had just flipped Shane onto his back.

To his surprise, Shane shuddered and another pheromone spike pierced the air. Shane pulled Ryan’s shirt off and then his own, and Ryan didn’t get a chance to really admire Shane's slim body before Shane was sliding out of his pants and socks. The Alpha pulled impatiently at Ryan’s sweatpants, his growl morphing into a deep whine. Shane’s eyes were becoming fierce, and Ryan was shocked by their clarity and intensity. Like Shane knew exactly what he was doing and 100 percent confident in it.

Ryan was suddenly nervous. Why the hell was Shane so determined?

“Ryan, if you don’t get your pants off in 3 seconds, I will rip them.” And oh, boy, that jolted Ryan into action.

Quickly, Ryan dismounted and turned so he could get his pants off better. The Omega tried to be careful and slow about taking them off—his underwear was soaked, and without clothes, there would be nothing protecting him from Shane’s hands and tongue and teeth and cock. Not to mention Shane was about to see everything. Ryan wasn't super insecure, he was just highly aware that he was no model, and neither was he slim or tiny.

But the second Ryan threw both his sweatpants and underwear somewhere into the hallway, Shane pounced on him, running his tongue up Ryan’s chest and licking at his nipples. Little bolts of electricity shot from Ryan’s chest to his spine, and he didn’t even try to hold in his high-pitched moans. God, he was more than ready. Why wasn’t Shane in him yet?

Shane was on top of Ryan again, but pressed as close as he could, as if Ryan could absorb Shane through his skin. Wide palms and long fingers rubbed Ryan’s lower back again, and Ryan panted. Shane paused for a moment and looked up at Ryan, his lips red and covered in spit, face so blissed out that Ryan throbbed a bit. _No way is he enjoying teasing me this much._ Ryan felt a hand disappear from his back, and then he felt the head of Shane’s cock nudge against his hole. Ryan whined, and another rush of slick oozed out, eager to help with getting Shane inside Ryan smoothly.

“Fuck, Ryan, you’re gorgeous.” And after a deep sigh, “Thank you.”

Ryan’s brow furrowed just a bit, confused, but then Shane held Ryan down and pushed in, sheathing himself in one smooth, effortless slide, wiping Ryan’s mind white.

 _That,_ Ryan’s hindbrain chuckled as Ryan rebooted, _is a real Alpha cock._

Ryan was certain his lower body was asleep. He shifted, just in case, and then felt his ass and abdomen explode in pleasure. Tingles erupted on his skin, and a little blurp of pre-cum dripped from the tip of his dick. Shane was flush with his pelvic bone, and Ryan tried to catch his breath as best he could. Fuck, it felt like the wind was knocked out of him. Shane was there, Shane was in him. Shane was so deep in him that Ryan swore he could see a little itty bitty bump in his stomach from where Shane’s cock was resting. Fuck, he didn’t even get a chance to admire or evaluate it before it slid into him. A bead of sweat crept from Ryan’s hairline to behind his ear.

_Yep, I’m dead._

Ryan took a second to look at Shane, whose chest was heaving. Ryan could feel his warm breath against his neck, and he shivered again, jostling the cock inside him, and he heard Shane grit his teeth.

 _“Jesus,_ Ryan. It’s so good,” Shane panted into Ryan’s ear. Ryan’s ass throbbed around Shane, and a little more slick seeped out from where Shane and Ryan were connected. Ryan felt Shane smirk against his neck. “See? I told you you like it when I talk to you.”

Ryan was just about to protest when Shane pulled out, slow enough for Ryan’s eyes to cross, and then slammed back in, somehow deeper than before, and right up against Ryan’s swollen prostate. Ryan’s nails dug into Shane’s back as the Alpha did this over and over and over. Finally, Ryan bit Shane's ear in frustration. _Why wasn’t this asshole going faster?_

But then Shane grabbed ahold of Ryan's dick, stroked him a single time, and Ryan gasped as his muscles seized up and released, rolling waves of pleasure flowing through his body, and he clenched hard around Shane’s cock. He felt himself splatter onto his chest, but he could hardly bring himself to care. After several long, bone-shattering seconds, Ryan went lax and Shane chuckled.

“That didn’t take very long, huh, babe? Certainly seems like you liked it.” Shane ground his still-hard cock into Ryan, and the Omega’s back arched off the couch cushions. “God, you’re better than I ever imagined,” Shane murmured under his breath.

Ryan couldn’t acquire enough brain cells to decode that little nugget.

Shane shifted again, and Ryan was getting the smallest bit impatient. Sure, the orgasm was mind-blowing, and sure, this was great, but he still wasn’t totally satisfied. What Ryan really wanted, what his body really wanted, was to feel that final, brutal swell of Shane’s knot. Clenching, Ryan felt a little bulge right inside his entrance—the beginnings of what would end his heat for good. Ryan rolled his hips, tempting Shane to pound into him like he meant it, but the Alpha held him down again, moving his own hips in little circles.

“Ah, ah, ah, Ry. I’m not quite done teasing yet,” Shane chuckled, pressing his thumbs into Ryan’s nipples and rubbing.

_Well, I’m certainly done with your teasing._

Again, pushed by instinct, Ryan rose up and shoved Shane over onto his back, flat against the cushions, and straddled him. Again, Shane’s eyes went wide. Again, a spike of aroused Alpha scent filled the air. “Fuck, Ryan, how did—?”

_I’ll teach you to respect your Queen._

Now that Ryan was on top, he felt like he could breathe. Smirking, he ran his hands across Shane’s abdomen, loving the shivers and sighs the Alpha let out. He could feel every little movement from his position on Shane, his thighs pressed against his sides. Shane full out moaned when Ryan rubbed his palms against his ribs.

“Ryan, please—uhn!” Shane’s voice was uncharacteristically airy, and Ryan fucking loved it. He loved seeing this Alpha spread out beneath him almost more than he liked being spread beneath Shane. Having this huge, powerful predator at his mercy gave Ryan a delicious head rush, and he wanted more.

Suddenly, Ryan was completely coherent. Clenching around Shane again, he decided it was his turn to tease. “Seems like the big guy can’t take what he dished out. What is it, Long Legs? Sensitive here?” Again, Ryan caressed Shane ribs, feeling the bones jut out from Shane’s skin, and the Alpha writhed.

“Oh, God—ah! Ryan, I can’t, I can’t! Ngh!” Shane shivered as Ryan ran his thumbs across Shane’s prominent collarbones. “Now who’s cheating?”

Ryan felt goosebumps rise on his skin again. Fuck, unraveling Shane like this was addictive. The first and only other Alpha that Ryan spent a heat with—Ellie—never ever let Ryan take control like this, even when his Queen instincts were screaming at him to take what he wanted and teach this Alpha who she belonged to. Steven had let him direct him around, but it wasn’t quite the same as this. Ryan felt high. He was aroused and proud and smiley and floating away all at once, all because Shane was letting Ryan touch him like this. Letting him take what he wanted. Letting Ryan indulge in instincts that the Omega had almost never let bubble to the surface.

Ryan pinched both of Shane’s nipples, and the Alpha’s back bent so far that Ryan was almost dislodged from his seat on Shane's throbbing cock. Every single reservation Ryan had ever had about his designation evaporated when Shane looked into Ryan’s eyes and begged.

“Ryan, Ryan, please, please, just—ah!—do something! I-I—uhn—you can’t just keep doing this. It’s too much! I’m gonna—!”

And how could Ryan say no to such sweet words?

Ryan smirked and began to quickly raise and lower his hips, going in tight circles that had Shane growling. Ryan whined his way through every single downward grind, focusing on how nicely Shane fit into him. Shane’s hands were at his hips again, helping Ryan bounce, and while Ryan appreciated the help, he’d much prefer Shane gripping the decorative pillows with all his strength. So Ryan sped up, bounced harder, shoved Shane in deeper. Ryan felt sweat slink down his back, across his collarbones, between the dip in his pecs. Shane’s eyes rolled back, and, just like Ryan wanted, his hands flew off his hips and onto the pillows. Ryan grinned as he watched Shane fight for control of his own body.

_Don’t worry, Shane. I’ve got you._

This was fantastic.

Ryan felt the knot grow, and before long, he could barely take Shane’s full length without whining a little every time he reached the base of Shane’s cock. Ryan managed one final drop after pulling out brought tears to his eyes and clenched, feeling the knot expand. Again, Ryan felt the wind get knocked out of him, but kept his eyes open just to watch Shane’s face contort in mind-numbing pleasure. Ryan smirked despite the soft orgasm wracking his own body. His muscles were so tired, and he was covered in sweat, but Ryan swore, at that moment, he could’ve easily astral projected off the face of the Earth.

Shane’s face relaxed after several more moments, and Ryan leaned down to kiss him up his chest and suck a very light hickey onto Shane’s neck. He made a mental note to commend Shane for not biting the absolute shit out of him despite the emergence of his fangs. Ellie had no such control.

When Shane finally blinked his eyes open, Ryan’s high was diminishing, and he was hit with the urge to be held again, even though he was completely and totally tied to the Alpha beneath him. As if he read his mind, Shane wrapped his long arms around Ryan’s body and pulled him closer, nestling Ryan into the crook of his neck.

“If this is what happens when I tease you, I’m never not teasing you again.”

Ryan smiled, breathing in Shane’s light, satisfied, contented Cedar musk. “Shut up, Shane,” he mumbled right before letting himself drift off in the Alpha’s arms.

~

When Ryan woke up, it was close to 2:00 in the morning, and Shane was still beneath him, breathing softly, face relaxed. Ryan’s heart stopped for so many reason, but he was not about to have a panic attack on top of Shane Madej. Ryan noticed how happy Shane’s scent was, but refused to think about why that might’ve been. All he knew was that he was starving, and there were lentils in his fridge calling his name. He briefly debated waking Shane and offering him food, but he decided against it. Even though they’d just had some dangerously hot heat sex, Ryan was in no way ready to talk about what just happened.

By the way, what just happened?

Ryan was in heat, Shane called, Shane arrived, Shane sexed him, and now Shane was asleep on Ryan couch, naked. And Ryan was on top of him, equally naked.

Ryan flushed and tried his best to sit up without waking Shane, but it was difficult. Every time Ryan moved, Shane shifted and threatened to open his eyes. It took Ryan almost ten minutes just to get himself untangled from Shane’s miles-long arms, and another two just to slip off his body. However, Ryan wasn’t a total asshole, so he looked around for a blanket to cover Shane with. Ryan promptly realized that every single blanket was resting atop his bed, woven into his nest. The Omega scowled. Because of course. Ryan debated for a second—he didn’t want to leave Shane out in the living room with no clean clothes or some kind of covering, so he just silently sighed and went to his room to get a blanket for the man-giant.

He crept away into his bedroom and got the largest, softest blanket he could find—a deep, comforting blue afghan that Ryan’d had forever, worn as soft as silk with age. Ryan smiled despite himself. _Perfect._ He got dressed again before tiptoeing back to the living room, covering Shane with the blanket, turning off the TV, gathering all of the discarded clothes, and starting a load of laundry. The least he could do was make sure Shane had clean underwear when he woke up.

Fuck, Shane was going to wake up here, in Ryan apartment, covered in Ryan’s afghan and Ryan’s scent. Ryan almost laughed at how backward this was. He was the one in heat, and here he was, making sure the Alpha got aftercare. Shrugging to himself as he started the laundry, he just chalked it up to some weird Queen instincts. And then he froze, mind racing as he recounted to himself every single thing he’d done that was definitely not what normal Omegas did—the near-command, the pushing Shane around, the _teasing,_ and now this weird aftercare.

Not that Ryan wouldn’t have minded some aftercare himself, but he would die before he let Shane know how Ryan needed to be treated in those weird in-between and post-heat moments. It always involved a lot of praise and soft touching and, more often than not, Ryan cried. Like, not even because he was sad, it was just that the low between heat highs was pretty low, and Ryan was already a fairly emotional man. Sometimes, the combination of hormones and touching and that low place was a bit too much, and Ryan would cry.

Ryan was practically on the verge of tears already. He’d just royally fucked up.

The Omega walked as quietly as he could to the bathroom, blew his nose, and crept to the kitchen. He wasn’t really looking forward to eating cold lentils, but his microwave was the loudest thing on the planet Earth, especially at two in the morning. Ryan just opened his fridge, popped open the container, and ate by fridge light. He was too high-strung to care that he was wasting energy, and besides, the cool air calmed his gradually warming skin.

Ryan swore under his breath. No fucking way was another wave coming—he’d just taken a fucking knot for crying out loud! Shouldn’t he have been fine for a few more hours? But Ryan felt the wave of a cramp, far off in the distance, and he almost yelled “Fuck!” into the empty air. Ryan refused to do this again. He’d already basically revealed himself to the one fucking person he didn’t want to know, and he didn’t want to do it again.

Angry and frustrated, Ryan shoved a few more bites of lentil into his mouth, then shut the fridge door as loud as he could without making any noise. It was not at all satisfying.

Knowing that he wouldn’t sleep unless he made himself, Ryan opened a cupboard and took one Allegra, two Ibuprofens, and a NyQuil gel. Ryan hated restoring to this, but he was not waking Shane, and he definitely not going to fuck himself with Shane one room over. All Ryan could do was make himself comatose for a few more hours. He swallowed the pills with milk from the carton, and ran to his bedroom, wincing when one of his steps made a floorboard creak.

Upon seeing his nest, Ryan almost sobbed with relief, but instead, he crawled into it, wrapped himself in a white fleece blanket and an old college sweatshirt, and fell asleep.

~

Ryan woke up, but it wasn’t a good awakening. His head was throbbing, and he couldn’t decide if he was starving to death or if his stomach was just really upset. _I’m never taking that combination of pills ever again._ He needed water, like, right now. And maybe an orgasm. Or both. Yeah, both sounded good.

Ryan untangled himself from his nest and was sad to go. He loved his nest—it smelled like him and was warm and comfortable, and it was disassembled at the end of every heat, meaning Ryan never had to look at it every day and be reminded of the unspeakable things he did to himself every March and September. Ryan debated just falling back into the mass of pillows, blankets, sweaters, shirts, and one stuffed animal, but something caught his attention: a smell. Well, two smells, actually. One was something cooking. The other was the undeniable scent of cedar and black tea.

Shane was… cooking?

Ryan had to see this with his own eyes. 

Both curiosity and hunger pulled him from his nest, and Ryan nearly fell over when he saw Shane in his kitchen, shirtless, with a pan in one hand and a spatula in the other. It looked like Shane was, in fact, cooking. Ryan stared, jaw dropped and in disbelief, as Shane kept cooking what looked and smelled like scrambled eggs. Ryan didn’t even know he had eggs in his fridge. Ryan couldn’t figure out what to do. He could keep watching Shane’s back muscles move, or go back to bed, or break the spell and announce his pretense and face the music. Ryan couldn’t figure out what he wanted to do—each option lead him back to facing Shane.

However, Ryan didn’t have enough time to make a decision because Shane turned around as he looked around Ryan’s kitchen for a plate.

Shane’s smile almost split Ryan in half. “Hey, Ry. Hungry? I made eggs.”

Refusing to make this even more awkward, Ryan slapped on a smirk and chuckled. “Next time, please tell me before you start cooking. I’d need to tell the fire department why my apartment spontaneously caught fire."

Shane guffawed back at Ryan. “You’ll change your mind once you try the Shane Specialty.”

“You? Have a specialty?” Ryan rolled his eyes and made sure Shane saw it. “Please, Shane, I’ve seen you burn toast. Multiple times.”

“Okay, fine, but that was then, and this is now. And until you at least try the fucking eggs, I’m just gonna assume you’re just a little scaredy-cat.”

Ryan very pointedly snatched the plate away and sat down as hard as he could at the kitchen island. “There’s where you’re wrong, Long Legs. I’ve never claimed to be anything but a scaredy-cat.” Ryan took a bite, chewed, and moaned. And suddenly his plate was clean. Ryan looked up at Shane, who was leaning against the countertop on the other side of the kitchen and grinning like he’d just won a very high-stakes bet. Ryan hated how he got just a smidge turned-on by that whole image. The bare chest, the smile, the jeans that he was wearing yesterday, the fact that Shane was feeding him.

Ryan shook it off as much as he could. “I’m not gonna say it,” Ryan said just as Shane set a glass of water in front of him.

Shane laughed. “That’s even better! God, I never thought I could get you speechless.”

“Fuck you, Shane.”

Shane perked up. “Oh, by the way, what the hell do you have in your fridge? Is there an apocalypse coming I don’t know about? And how come it’s never this full when I’m over?” Shane set his hand on his hip like a disgruntled dad, and Ryan tried his best not to burst out laughing. Ah, there’s the Shane Ryan knew—all bluff and bluster and ridiculous comments. This Shane Ryan could handle.

“Well, Shane, it’s not my fault that desperate times call for a ton of snacks. Seriously, I would resort to human souls if they tasted good and were filling.”

Shane put on a face of fake shock and wheezed. “Ryan, I never thought you’d become the very demon you claim to fear!”

“Like I said, desperate times, my guy,” Ryan said as if that explained all away perfectly. Shane only scrunched up his face and scoffed as Ryan drank the whole glass of water in a matter of seconds. Ryan put the glass down and sighed. His headache was almost gone, but, like before, there was still a pit in his stomach that food had not quite fixed. “Desperate times, indeed,” Ryan mumbled to the counter more than anyone else.

Shane hmm’d, causing Ryan to lift his eyes, and Ryan shivered when he saw Shane’ along arms slowly move. Shane put his elbows on the island counter and leaned toward Ryan, brown eyes glittering with some kind of weird mix of affection and mischief. Ryan almost flinched—scaredy-cat, remember? “'Desperate times,' huh? What exactly do you mean by that?” the Alpha purred.

Ryan froze. If he'd still been holding the glass, he would have dropped it. The arousal that’d been previously shoved down due to hunger bubbled up in full force, but Ryan made himself hold his pheromone burst down. No way was he giving Shane that satisfaction. And no way was he talking about this insane situation they were both in. Not right now.

“Wow, do I have you speechless again? That’s got to be some kind of record,” Shane laughed. But Ryan was a little more focused on Shane’s mouth than the words coming out of it. When he saw that mouth quirk up in something far less innocent than a laugh, Ryan looked up and glared.

“Like I said before, fuck you, Shane Madej.” And Ryan grabbed his plate and glass, hopped down from the island and way from Shane, and set the dishes in the sink to rinse them off. He didn’t notice Shane sneaking up behind him and caging him in.

Ryan turned to leave, probably to go back to his room and do… something— _what am I even going to do with Shane here?_ —but was effectively blocked by Shane’s tall body.

Ryan jumped, suddenly face-to-face with the Alpha. “Jesus Christ! Shane, what the hell are you doing?” Ryan tried to feign annoyance, ignoring the huge part of him that loved being loomed over like this and furiously ignoring the part that wanted to shove Shane onto his back again.

“Oh, you know, just hanging out,” Shane said with a massive smirk.

 _I’m being toyed with._ “Ha ha, Shane, hilarious, now back up, please.” Ryan poked Shane’s chest for emphasis. Shane only laughed.

“And why would I do that, Ryan?” Shane’s scent was deepening into something sensual and arousing, and Ryan was about to lose control. Again. _Goddamnit._

“Because I asked you to. I even said ‘please,’” Ryan sassed. _Also I can’t breathe when you are this close._

No such luck. If anything, Shane got closer, pushing their hips together and chuckling when Ryan’s breath hitched. “You’re sure you want me to back up?” Ryan was too busy panting to come up with any kind of snippy remark, holding the edge of the countertop in an attempt to get a grip on himself. Shane ground into him just like he had last night, and Ryan whimpered. “Aw, Ryan,” Shane purred and he leaned in closer and closer. “Aren't you just a sultry little thing?”

Ryan looked up at Shane, eyes both panicked and aroused, but before he could say a damn thing in protest, Shane slotted their mouths together and let his scent spike. Ryan’s eyes lost focus, and he sighed into Shane’s lips. 

Shane growled, and Ryan’s knees wobbled. He hadn’t even felt Shane press his tongue against the seam of his lips yet, and Ryan was already melting. Shane kept pressing his mouth against Ryan, and the Omega had lost most of his coherency before Shane licked across Ryan’s bottom lip, subtly asking for permission. Ryan sighed again and open his mouth just a little, but it was more than enough to hint to Shane that Ryan accepted the offer. Shane immediately curled his tongue around Ryan’s, relishing when the Omega groaned and pushed back a little. Shane kept Ryan there for several minutes, swiping his tongue across the roof of Ryan’s mouth, pulling away to suck at his neck, and the diving back in, all while Ryan shook and whined and pulled Shane’s hair. Fuck, this Omega was going to destroy him.

Ryan’s brain was turning into mush. Again. Shane just seemed to know exactly how Ryan wanted to be touched and caressed, and Ryan was so aroused that he forgot to keep holding his pheromone spikes. Shane dragged his fingers down from Ryan’s collarbones, over his pecs, brushed his nipples, traced his abs, then grabbed his ass. Teetering on the edge from just these few touches, Ryan released a burst of pheromones before he even realized it.

Shane’s grip in Ryan’s ass tightened, nails digging in through fabric. Shane pulled away, and Ryan, dazed, chased the Alpha’s mouth for a split second before recognizing what he was doing. Ryan took his hands out of Shane’s hair and was about to start babbling, but Shane did that fucking purr-growl again, and Ryan slicked up so fast it started to inch down his thigh. Ryan whined, hating how that rush of slick instantly gave away how horny he was, but Shane rumbled deep in his chest and ground against Ryan again.

“God, Ryan, I just can’t believe how great you smell. How do you not have people lined up around the block?” Shane bit on Ryan’s ear then sucked on his earlobe, and any answer Ryan could have given was replaced with a moan.

_Well, I can think of one fucking reason, Shane._

Shane gave Ryan’s tongue a final suck before pulling away and starting to pant. “Fuck.” Both of the men’s chest heaved as they tried to catch their breath. Shane looked down at Ryan, eyes hooded and lusty. “I think we’ve scarred this poor sink enough already, don’t you agree?”

Ryan only quirked his head at Shane before he was being dragged out of the kitchen, dishes forgotten. Apparently, Shane couldn’t stand the idea of soiling the kitchen but had no problem with re-traumatizing the living room furniture. Shane sat down hard on the couch and tried to pull Ryan on top of him, but Ryan resisted. No, not the couch. Somewhere else, anywhere else. Not in front of the family photos again.

 _Take him to bed. Take him to your_ nest.

Shane pulled again, but when Ryan still didn’t come willingly, Shane’s grip loosened and his eyes cleared up. “Hey, Ry, you okay up there?”

Shaking off his own fog, Ryan made himself form words. “Not the couch again, please.”

_Nest._

This time, Shane leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Ryan’s waist. The Alpha nuzzled into Ryan’s stomach, breathing in the Omega’s delicious, sweet pheromones and the tempting aroma of fresh slick. “Okay, that’s fine. Was a bit too small for me anyways. Where would you rather go?”

_Nest._

Ryan hesitated. Bringing an Alpha into his nest was a big fucking deal. His nest was his safe place, a little spot where he could hide and play out his dirtiest fantasies away from the eyes of the world. Omegas all made nests, but they weren’t exclusive to heats, and they didn’t have as intimate a purpose as Ryan’s did. As a Queen, the nest was where Ryan would be unable to hold back his most basic instincts. It reserved for very special people, like his children and mates and family, at the very least someone who Ryan wanted to seriously pursue. Steven had been allowed in, but Steven was Steven—there was nothing Steven didn’t know about Ryan at this point.

But Shane… Shane was very, very different. If Ryan let him in, it was more than just sex, it basically was a proposition. It was Ryan, as a Queen, asking Shane to be his, to care for him, and, at some level, submit to Ryan. And that was a lot to ask of someone who hadn’t even known Ryan was heat about 24 hours ago. It was even more so for someone who had no idea that Ryan was a Queen to begin with.

Ryan was shocked back to reality when Shane pulled up the bottom of his shirt and kissed across Ryan’s pelvis, finishing with a solid lick up his abs. “What is it, Ry? Too many flat surfaces to choose from?” Shane started to suck and bite at Ryan’s lower stomach, and Ryan was losing his ability to think again. “Do you have a nest? We could go there if you want.”

Ryan froze just as a bolt of white-hot arousal shot through him. Was Shane offering? Ryan would be physically and mentally unable to say ‘no’ if Shane was going to give himself up on a silver platter like that. For Ryan, having the Alpha ask to enter his nest was a huge turnpon—it was practically consent to letting Ryan do whatever he wanted to him.

And oh, did Ryan _want_.

Ryan bit his tongue to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid, like drag Shane to his bedroom and fucking destroy him. Shane, concerned by Ryan’s lack of response, took a moment to actually look up at the trembling Omega. “Hey, Ryan, you okay?”

Ryan opened his eyes and tried to breathe. “Y-you’re okay with being in my nest? With me?”

A little bit of Ryan’s brain—the last shred of sanity—protested immediately. _Don’t fucking ask that! He has no real idea about what he is agreeing to!_

 _Sure,_ Ryan’s hindbrain answered, _but he took it so nicely last time. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind._

Shane cut through Ryan’s internal argument with a truly primal growl. “Take me to your nest, Omega.”

Ryan just couldn’t resist.

~

At that moment, it was Ryan’s turn to drag Shane wherever he wanted, and the two ended up in Ryan’s room so fast that Shane was dizzy. Ryan had paused though, so Shane took a moment to look around. He’d been in Ryan’s room only a handful of times—their hangouts were typically limited to the living room, since, you know, TV and video game consoles and whatnot. But Shane had never, ever seen Ryan’s nest before.

Shane admired the mass of soft things bundled on top of Ryan’s bed—it certainly looked nice and inviting, and Ryan’s scent was so heavily concentrated there that Shane knew, if he wasn't already hard, he would’ve popped a boner immediately. His wrist was tingling from where Ryan was gripping him, but Ryan wasn’t looking at him. Ryan was looking at his own nest, suddenly tense, and Shane realized something—this might’ve been the first time Ryan's brought anyone to his nest. At least, anyone that wasn’t Steven. Suddenly, Shane felt honored, thankful, and, most important, way more aroused. His scent spiked, and he saw Ryan try and fail to hide a shiver.

The Alpha walked shifted closer to Ryan, wrapped his arms around the Omega’s shoulders, and rocked them a little. “Are you sure this is okay?” Shane asked tentatively. He was fine with finding somewhere else, especially if it made Ryan start emitting that lovely scent again, but Ryan slowly shook his head.

_I’ve already made this dumb fucking decision. Don’t ruin it._

Ryan stepped forward, and Shane let him go. Ryan circled his nest for a second, putting some stray items back to where they belonged, shifting some pillows around, and draping a blanket over another section of pillows to smooth the nest out. Carefully, he crawled into the center of his nest, sat down, and looked up at Shane, eyes some mixture of determined and nervous and turned-on.

Shane tried his best not to rumble as he walked over to the edge of the bed, not touching it, but hovering. He met Ryan’s eyes and smirked. “Can I come in?”

Ryan somehow found it in himself to make an exasperated face. “No, I brought in here so you could watch me fix my nest for no one and then leave,” he mumbled, much to Shane’s amusement. “Yes, Shane, you can come in, Jesus Christ.”

Shane practically jumped into the nest and laid himself right across Ryan’s lap. He nuzzled Ryan’s upper thigh, and Ryan shivered. Excited by this discovery, Shane slid his hands up Ryan’s legs and held his outer thighs, loving the high-pitched sigh that came from up above him. Shane ran his lips up Ryan’s inner thigh and was delighted when he felt Ryan’s hand grab his hair. Shane stealthily grabbed the edges of Ryan’s sweats and tugged them down, and Ryan, blissed out, forgot that he wasn’t wearing anything beneath them.

By the time he jerked and tried to grab a hold of his dignity, his pants were off and Shane’s eyes were undeniably hungry and predatory. Ryan was bare from the waist down, and his face caught fire. He turned his head, not wanting to watch Shane scrutinize him, but that made him focus on the appreciative growls echoing from Shane’s throat.

“So pretty,” Shane murmured into Ryan’s pelvis. Ryan wanted to protest, but Shane wrapped his mouth around Ryan’s cock and slipped two long fingers through Ryan’s slick and into his hole—Ryan lost all ability to speak. All he could do was throw his head back onto the edge of his nest, arch his back, and feel.

The Omega could barely focus on either of the individual sensations before he was shouting out an orgasm and not only coating Shane’s hand in more fucking slick, but also spurting clear, mostly-sperm-free cum into Shane’s hot mouth. Ryan’s eyes weren’t in any kind of focus, but his ears definitely heard the sounds of swallowing followed by a non-too-subtle slurp. Ryan blinked and cleared his vision just in time to see Shane lick the last of the slick from his fingers. Ryan’s eyes widened before he leaned forward, pulled Shane toward him, and gave him a brutal, bruising kiss that had Shane moaning.

When Ryan finally pulled away for air, he almost laughed. “Kinky bastard,” he mumbled against Shane’s mouth.

Shane only smirked. “You're one to talk, Bergara,” he slurred.

Ryan almost whined. _No, Shane, you don’t get it. You don’t get it at all. Everything you are doing is code for ‘claim me.’ You have no idea how hard you are testing my self-control._

Shane leaned forward and kissed him, a little softer this time, and Ryan took this opportunity to flip them so that he was on top, much like he had been the day before. Shane bit his lip and smiled at Ryan like he was drunk. “Mm, you really like being on top, huh? Like seeing me beneath you? Like knowing I’m losing my mind because of you?”

Ryan ripped off his t-shirt, trying to distract himself from Shane’s sinful, lusty, _correct_ words, but when Shane started twirling Ryan’s nipples, the Queen couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed Shane’s wrists, pulling them away from his body, and looked down at Shane. It was Shane’s turn to shiver when he met Ryan’s eyes—the Omega seemed like he was on the verge of eating him.

“Shane, take off your pants. Now.” Ryan winced internally. _Fuck, another near-command. Ryan, fucking reign it in, would ya?_

Shane had his pants halfway off before Ryan got the whole sentence out. Ryan shifted so Shane could get them the rest of the way off, and when he did, Ryan took a second to properly look at Shane’s cock.

All Alpha’s had big dicks—some evolutionary thing about getting their sperm as close to the Omega’s cervical canal as possible to beat out any possible competition—but Ryan was still surprised when he saw it. Ellie’s clit certainly wasn’t this big. It was so… nice. It had a charming fade from creamy white to light pink, a little thinner in the middle, but a solid, rounded head and no foreskin. Ryan almost laughed aloud. _Ha, Neapolitan dick._ Ryan traced the tip, watching as it twitched from his touch. Groaning, Shane grabbed Ryan’s knee, a silent plea for more or less or at the very least mercy, but Ryan only smiled at him.

“Still can’t take even the littlest bit of teasing, huh? Where’s all that bravado?” Ryan chuckled, and Shane whined.

“Different when—ah!—I tease you. Mmph, fuck! God, you’re killin’ me, Ryan.”

_Alpha. In my nest. Mine. Alpha. MINE._

Ryan shoved away his rabid hindbrain thoughts and just focused on slowly sliding his hand up and down Shane’s shaft, loving the faces Shane made. God, he was so expressive. Ryan was sure he was going to leave a wet stain on one of his favorite blankets if he just kept watching Shane writhe, so he swung his leg over and sank down, no warning given.

Shane moaned so loud that Ryan’s smile turned a little too elated to be normal. _Yes, take what your Queen gives you. Take it and_ love _it._

“Jesus fuck, Ryan. You’re so—uhn!” Shane tried to make sentences, but Ryan was already on the move. He went as fast as he could, making sure to angle it just right so that he would catch his prostate every damn time. Ryan thought he would lose his mind totally.

However, Ryan was sore, so after only a few minutes, his muscles were screaming at him to stop or at least slow down. Ryan put his hands on Shane’s panting chest and stopped, trying to catch his breath, but then long arms circled his waist and shoulders and tugged him down. Ryan’s eyes flew open, wondering what Shane was doing, but the Alpha only had a devilish grin on his face. Ryan’s brows furrowed, even as he slicked up a little.

“Ready, cowboy?” Shane said, flushed but confident.

Ryan didn’t get a chance to think about it too hard before Shane thrust up and Ryan saw stars. Riding Shane had been nice, the perpendicularity of their position good enough for Ryan to get a good grind and bounce going. But now, the angle was way different, and Shane had definitely been holding back that first type he fucked Ryan. His thrusts were somehow deep, long, and fast, and Ryan had to withstand feeling the whole of Shane’s cock working in and out of him at an insane pace. Ryan was getting his life fucked out of him. Sure, he knew Shane was strong, but this was crazy.

All Ryan could do was moan and squirm on top in the cedar-scented Alpha.

Ryan felt his orgasm getting closer and closer—it was like watching a wave crest. At the same time, Shane’s knot was catching on his rim. With every push in, Ryan felt the wave rise. Finally, finally, Shane shoved in and stayed there, grunting into Ryan’s neck as the Omega grabbed his shoulders and howled. Shane’s knot exploded, and Ryan felt his orgasm crash into him, catching him on a deep, warm wave and threatening to drown him. Ryan shuddered as those same wonderful, rippling tingles washed over him in time with the pulses of Shane’s knot.

After one last shiver, Ryan went lax, and Shane ran his fingers up and down Ryan’s back while Ryan breathed through the last little bits of Shane’s orgasm. Ryan wanted to sleep again—he could have been knocked over with a feather. And Shane’s breathing was definitely slowing down. So, the Omega nuzzled into Shane’s shoulder and closed his eyes. He would face this whole clusterfuck right after he slept away the last tendrils of heat.

Right before he drifted off, he heard Shane, still blissed out, mumble to the air. “Perfect.”

Ryan was too tired to hide his smile.

~

At around 3 in the afternoon, Ryan stirred, and he was once again alone. He felt a deep pang of loneliness, and he realized his heat must’ve broke. All the scents that were previously appealing—sweat, cum, slick, violently aroused Alpha—all made him scrunch up his nose. If Shane’s scent hadn’t been there, Ryan would have somehow convinced himself that he’d just had an extremely crazy heat dream, but alas, it was there. He felt no more desire to be held down or to hold someone else down, only hungry for food and cuddles. Above all, his whole body ached.

Ryan groaned. Post-heat meant post-heat symptoms—grouchiness, irritability, touchiness, random crying, and even a few last swells of hormones that made him both horny and repulsed by any nearby Alpha. Post-heat also meant aftercare. Fuck, Ryan did not want to do this, especially with Shane. Only Steven had ever helped him through this section of heat, and Ryan always felt awful for him. Ryan wasn’t super pleasant to be around during this time. Sure, Steven had always denied this, but Ellie had been so pissed at Ryan after his heat was over and he asked to be both cuddled and left alone, fucked and not be touched, was starving and not hungry. She’d called him demanding and needy and “worse than any other Omega I’ve ever taken care of!”

That kind of shit stuck with a person.

Ryan could’ve taken a guess where Shane was—probably showering if the sounds of running water were any indication—so Ryan grabbed a baby wipe from his dresser drawer. He then looked down and realized he'd been cleaned.

 _Goddamnit_.

Ryan rolled out of his nest, ignoring how messy it was. Not like it mattered anymore. He speed-walked to the kitchen and set the kettle on, instant oatmeal on his mind. While it boiled, Ryan went back to his bedroom and gathered up all the things that needed to be washed, setting them into different-colored piles to make laundry just a bit easier. The kettle started whistling, and Ryan went back to the kitchen.

And there was Shane, freshly showered and in that fucking flannel. Ryan’s heat might’ve been over, but he was sure that, heat or not, Shane in deep red clothes would turn him on for the rest of his life.

Shane was pouring himself some kind of minty tea and smiled at Ryan when he saw him. Ryan felt a deep sense of deja vu, but shoved it away. Shane was probably going to want to talk. Okay, maybe not ‘want' to, but decide that it was necessary to. And Ryan couldn’t disagree with him. They’d just crossed some kind of boundary line, at least they had in Ryan’s mind. Heat sex was a serious muddler when it came to relationships, especially when they were newer, and Ryan was suddenly very worried that this one was about to end.

Shane could end their whole friendship right here, at Ryan’s island countertop.

And Ryan couldn’t blame him.

“You hungry, Ryan? There’s hot water, obviously. Want tea or something?” Shane asked.

Ryan forced a smile. “Yeah. I have instant oatmeal on the top of the fridge?”

“What? On top of the fridge?” A smirk emerged on Shane’s face. “How’d you even get it up there? Do you have a step ladder somewhere?”

Ah, back to banter. “Fuck off, Shane. I did have a system of getting things off of high places before I befriended the BFG.”

“Bold of you to assume I am friendly,” Shane said, even though he was grabbing the box of apple-cinnamon oatmeal from its spot atop the fridge.

Ryan rolled his eyes but accepted the box when Shane gave it to him.

This… This was normal, like how they always did things. Banter, height jokes, Shane’s smirk—all of it, very, almost aggressively normal. It felt like what happened between them had only been a little blip. Ryan felt no hostility, no break-up hovering over his head like it had with Ellie, no giant red button that said: “To end everything, press here.” Shane was there, in his kitchen, making dumb comments about who the fuck ate instant apple-cinnamon oatmeal like he hadn’t just fucking broke Ryan’s heat with only two knots. Like he’d always been there, always done this.

Almost like Shane belonged there, with Ryan.

Ryan tried to shake those thoughts away, but they’d suddenly been planted perfectly in his head, and a little something bloomed there that both thrilled and terrified Ryan: hope.

All thoughts of aftercare and Queen-dom and post-heat whatever the fuck evaporated. Sure, they’d have to talk. They’d need to talk about this, about how this was going to actually affect them going forward, but Ryan tried his best to think about it less like the end of the world and more like the end of an era.

Shane sat down across from Ryan, still babbling about how his mom made such better oatmeal and “seriously, Ryan, no wonder you’re such a dumbass. You’re not getting enough nutrients into your body.” Ryan hid his smile with another bit of said instant oatmeal.

Maybe, just maybe, this would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> This my first fic in this fandom--be nice and leave love! Mean comments will be filed away for blackmail.


End file.
